Electrical railway-signal



(No Model.)

0. B. JOHNSON. ELECTRICAL RAILWAY SIGNAL.

Patented Oct. 18,1881;

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORVILLE B. JOHNSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRICAL RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,326, dated October18, 1881.

Application filed May 20,1881. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OR-VILLE B. JOHNSON, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain Improvements inElectrical Railway-Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of electric railroad-signals inwhich an alarm is sounded at a crossing or other given point by theaction of an approaching train of cars on a magnetogenerator or othersuitable electric device.

Heretot'ore, so far as I am aware,iu this class of signals the signalhas generally either been operated only while the train of cars ispassing the point where the magneto-generator or other electric deviceis located, so that there is'no operation of the signal during theinterim while the train is passing from said point to the point wherethe signal is located or has been operated for a fixed length of time,regardless of the length of time occupied by the train in passing fromone point to the other, so that there is liability of the signal beingoperated after or stopping before the train has passed.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved signal mechanismadapted to be continuously operated during the passage of the train fromthe point Where the electric device is located to the signal itself, andto be stopped by the action of the train when the latter reaches thepoint where the signal is located; and to this end the inventionconsists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe andclaim.

Of the aceompanyingdrawin gs, forming part of this specification, Figure1 represents a side elevation of a signal mechanism embodying myinvention, one of the sides of the supporting-frame being removed toshow the mechanism more clearly. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 represents a top view. Figs. 4c and 5 represent sideelevations of parts of the mechanisms, showing their positions duringdifferent parts of the operation. Figs. 6 and 7 represent, respectively,sections on lines y y and 00 00, Figs. 4 and 5, and Fig.8 represents aside elevation of a part detached.

The same letters of reference relate to the same parts in all thefigures.

In carrying out my inventionI provide a supporting-frame, a, a hell orgong, b, striking mechanism therefor, a motor for said strikingmechanism, adapted to be set for action by the Wheels of a passing trainof cars, a locking device adapted to be operated simultaneously with thesetting of the motor to prevent the latter from operating the strikingmechanism, and an electro-magnet, A, adapted to be operated bythe actionof a subsequently approaching train at adistaut point, to releasethelock- 6o ing mechanism and permit the striking mechanism to beoperated by its motorwhile the train is advancing from said distantpoint to the signal. I

In the drawings I have shown the abovenamed elements embodied in thebest practical form which I have devised up to the present time.

The striking mechanism consists of a train of gearing, c d e f, anescapement, g, preferably an ordinary anchor-escapement, a pendulum, h,on the arbor h, carrying the anchor of the escapement, and abell-hammer, t, pivoted at j and arranged to be operated to strike the.bell by pins on one of the wheels of the train of gearing.

The motor of the striking mechanism is composed of a lever, l, pivotedupon the arbor of the gear 0, and carrying a dog, m, engaging witha.ratchet, a, rigidly attached to said arbor, and a spring, 1), attachedat one end to the lever Z, and at the opposite end to a fixed object,and adapted, when properly set for action, to move the lever l in thedirection indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.

The mechanism for setting the spring for action consists of a'lever, 0,arranged to be depressed by the wheels of a passing train of cars, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, either directly or throughsuitableintermediate mechanism, and a rod, 1, connecting the levers Z0,

so that when the latter is depressed, as shown, the lever Z will beturned on its pivot in the proper direction to set the spring foraction.

I do not limit myself to the use of a spring as a motor, however, as aweight may be arranged to be raised or set for action on the strikingmechanism Without departure from the spirit of my invention.

The locking mechanism is composed of an arm, q, rigidly attached to thearbor h,- a dog, 1', pivoted to the arm q, and having its downwardmovement on its pivot limited by any suitable means, preferably by ahorizon- IOO tal bar or track, 3, adapted to support the end of the dog,as hereinafter described; a lever, t, pivoted at a, and provided with ashoulder, '12, (see Fig. 8,) adapted to be raised above the upper edgeof the bar 8 or to be depressed below the same; a detent, 1r, on thearmature-1ever of the electro-magnet A, held normally by aretracting-spring in position to hold the lever t in an elevatedposition when the magnet is not excited, and devices operated by apassing train of cars to raise the lever t, the lastnamed devicesconsisting, preferably, of a notched disk or cam, B, on an arbor, O,journaled in the frame a, an arm, D, on the arbor O, and a rod, E,connecting the arm D to the connecting-rod l. When the lever t is raisedso that its shoulder 12 projects above the bar 8, and the electro-magnetA is not excited, said lever is held in said position by the detent w,and the shoulder 11 is in position to engage the dog and prevent the armq from vibrating, thus locking the escapement and preventing thestriking mechanism from being operated by its motor. When the lever tislowered below the limit of the downward movement of the dog 7' thelatter is disengaged from the shoulder a, and is free to reciprocate onthe smooth upper edge of the bar 8. The arm q is therefore free tovibrate, and the striking mechanism is released, so that it will beoperated by the motor.

The upward movement of the lever t is et' fected by the depression ofthe lever 0, which partially rotates the cam B and causes the edge ofthe latter to bear on a pin, 1), on the side of the lever t and raisethe lever to the position shown in Fig. 1, the arm or detent w springingback under the lever t and holding it up. As soon as the lever t israised a spring, H, raises-the lever 0, and, through the rods 1 and Eand arm D, rotates the cam B until its notch comes under the pin 1, sothat the lever t can drop below the upper edge ofthe bar 8 when thedetent w is withdrawn from under said lever.

The operation of the described mechanism as a whole is as follows:Suppose the motorof the striking mechanism to be set foraction and thelocking devices adjusted to prevent the op eration of the strikingmechanism. The wheels of an approaching train of cars act on amagneto-generator or a circuit-closer orothersuitable device in electricconnection with the electro-magnet A, and at a suitable distance fromthe signal, and excite said magnet, causing its armature to withdraw thedetent w from under the lever 1, thus releasing said lever and suffering it to drop, as shown in Fig. 4. The striking mechanism is thusallowed to operate the pendulum and escapement, regulating the speed ofoperation and causing the hammer to strike the bell at a moderate rateuntil the train reaches the point were the signal is located. When thewheels of the train act on the lever 0 the lever l is moved to theposition shown in dotted lines in Fig.1,thereby setting the spring p foraction. At the same time the cam B is rot-ated and the lever it raisedto arrest the dog 1" and lock the striking mechanism, so that when thetrain of cars passes on it leaves the striking mechanism ready foroperation, but locked, so that it will not operate until the succeedingtrain acts on the electrical devices to excite the electro-magnet A. Theoperation of the signal is therefore insured during and limited to thetime in which the train is passing from the electrical devices to thesignal.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. An automaticsignalingapparatus for railroad-crossings, consisting of the followingelements, namely: a gong-sounding mechanism controlled by an escapement,a pivoted dog operated by the escapement, a toothed bar normally engagedwith the dog to hold the gong-sounding mechanism in check, a smoothsupporting-bar, s, to allow the dog to reciprocate, a detent for holdingthe toothed bar normally in engagement with the dog, an electromagnetfor shifting the detent so as to release the toothed bar from the dogand set otf the gong-sounding mechanism, and devices operated by thewheels of a passing train for re-engaging the toothed bar with the dog,to again arrest the gong-sounding mechanism, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the signatoperating mechanism having the arm (1 onone of its arbors, the motor, the releasing-magnet, and the lockingmechanism, composed of, first, a dog pivoted to the arm (1 and having alimited downward movement; second, a pivoted shoul dered lever arrangedto be raised and lowered, and thereby arrest and release the dog; third,devices, substantially as described, adapted to be operated by thewheels of the train of cars to raise the lever; and, fourth, a stop ordetent on the armature ot' the releasing-magnet, adapted to hold thelever in its raised position, as set forth.

In testimony whereofl have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 17th day ofMay, A.D. 1881.

QRVILLE B. JOHNSON.

